Nos Morituri Te Salutamus
by Mo Cat
Summary: Harper becomes ill and the crew puts his life in the hands of a stranger who says he can save him.
1. Don't Eat the Blue Stuff

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Andromeda characters and I never will. But I do own Fandan!!  
  
The whole crew had been invited to a banquet by the latest race to sign on to the new Commonwealth. Harper's plan was to eat until he couldn't eat anymore. Everybody was dressed up; Harper, Dylan, and Tyr in tuxedos, Trance in a gold floor-length dress, Rommie in a sleek red dress, and Beka in a knee-length black dress. It was almost time for the crew to make an exit, and Beka didn't want to leave.  
  
"Isn't this a great party?" She asked Harper cheerfully.   
  
"I think I ate too much food," Harper moaned. "Why are you so happy about being here, anyway? Wasn't it you who didn't want to come tonight?"  
  
"Alcoholic beverages can change a person's mind. You should know that, Harper." She giggled and patted him on the shoulder. He gave a fake smile and clutched his stomach.   
  
"Mr. Harper, Ms. Valentine," Dylan said as he approached them, "I do believe it's time for us to get back to the Andromeda."   
  
"Do we have to?" Beka asked sadly.  
  
Dylan smelled the alcohol on her breath and sighed. "Yes," he replied. He looked at Harper. "Too much food, Harper?" Harper just shook his head "yes." Dylan chuckled. "All right then, everybody, say good-bye. Smile…"  
  
The crew waved and smiled as they left the banquet hall and headed towards their ship, which was docked not too far away. Rommie walked ahead of everyone. "I never want to do that again," she said. Trance walked slowly behind with Harper.   
  
"I think I ate too much," she complained.  
  
"Join the club," Harper said painfully.  
  
* * * * * * * * *   
  
Harper and Trance were sick all that night. Beka was sick for a while, but passed out after rushing to the bathroom twice. Dylan requested that Rommie keep an eye on Trance and Harper and to report to him every two hours. Both were running a fever and both couldn't sleep. Dylan figured they must have gotten some food poisoning from something they ate that the rest of the crew didn't eat. He still had worry in his mind, but figured they would be better in a day or two.   
  
The next morning, Trance stayed in bed. Harper insisted on working. There were some things that needed to be done around the ship, and he didn't like handing his work off to somebody else. He thought working would also keep him busy. Rommie monitored him while he worked. His temperature seemed to rise every hour. A few hours later, he showed up on command. His brow was drenched with sweat, his skin was pale, and the areas around his eyes were red.   
  
"The slip drive is fixed and Rommie's air filtration system is clean," he told Dylan.   
  
"Thank you, Harper. That's all I need you to do. Why don't you go back to your quarters and rest a while?"  
  
"I just might do that, Dylan. Thanks." Harper walked out of command. Holo-Rommie appeared in front of Dylan.  
  
"His temperature is rising by the hour and he's dehydrating. Dylan, I'm worried about him. What did he eat that the rest of you didn't eat?"  
  
"Well, there was that blue stuff that him and Trance dared each other to eat," Dylan thought out loud. "I think he ate more of it than she did. Do you think there was something wrong with it?"  
  
Rommie didn't reply. Her eyes wandered for a moment. "Dylan, he's passed out not too far from command."  
  
*  
  
Dylan raced out of command and turned a corner. He saw Harper lying in the middle of the corridor and rushed over to him. "Harper," he said as he felt Harper's pulse. His heartbeat was fast and irregular. "Rommie, get to the med deck." He picked Harper up and started heading towards the med deck. He bumped into Tyr as he turned a corner and nearly dropped Harper. Tyr took Harper from Dylan and looked at him. "What's wrong with the boy now?" he asked.   
  
"I'll tell you when I find out," Dylan said impatiently. Tyr got the hint and headed with Dylan to the med deck. 


	2. Frustration

* * * * * * *  
  
"I can't figure out what's wrong with him," Rommie complained over Harper, who still lay unconscious on one of the beds in the med deck. "Trance didn't eat the blue stuff. She's got food poisoning, probably from the chicken… or whatever that was. All I know is that Harper has some kind of virus, but it doesn't match anything in my database. I've tried to lower his temperature, but nothing's working. Right now, he's at 102.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If his temperature goes passed 105, his chances of dying will increase dramatically. The nanobots I injected earlier aren't doing anything. Dylan, I don't know what else to do."  
  
Dylan soaked up everything Rommie told him. The last sentence really got to him. He had never realized before how important Harper had become in everyone's lives, and now the threat of losing him upset him. He thought of ways to help Harper, even just a little bit. "Rommie…" He suddenly had hope in his voice. She looked at him in surprise. "Is there any way you can talk to him through the interface, like we did with Sid?"  
  
"The thought had crossed my mind, and yes it is possible, but I don't see what good that would do," Rommie said somewhat sadly.   
  
"Well, if you talk to him, maybe you could get him to wake up or even find a way to make him more comfortable."  
  
"I'll try, if that's what you want, Captain." Rommie pulled Harper's bed over to one of the consoles in the med deck and pulled a wire out of it. She connected the wire to his data port and waited a few seconds. Then she closed her eyes and found Harper in the interface. "Harper, are you okay?" she asked when she saw him.   
  
"Oh yeah, I'm having a good ol' time in oblivion. You should come here some time," he said sarcastically. "What do you think, Rommie? My stomach feels like it's going to explode, this headache brings back memories of the overload, and I feel like I breathed in a lot of water. Tell me, does it sound like I'm okay?"  
  
Rommie gave him a look and sighed. "Sorry, Harper. Didn't mean to ask."  
  
"I'm sorry, Rommie, it's just that I'm in a really bad mood. That waiter told me that the blue stuff was good and healthy for the body. I hope Trance is sick too. Well, you know what I mean. She's the one who dared me to eat it. I dared her back."  
  
"Harper…" Rommie smiled a little. "Trance confessed. She didn't eat the blue stuff, whatever it was. She told me she only pretended to eat it so that she could watch your face when you found out it tasted bad."  
  
Harper sighed and scratched his head. Something alarmed him. He got a strange look on his face and his eyes wandered around. Then he looked at Rommie. "See you in the real world, Rom Doll." He woke up in the real world and startled Dylan. Rommie soon followed him and was at his side when she opened her eyes. "Rommie," he said softly. His voice was fading. "I got this strange message. Did you hear it?" Rommie shook her head know and looked confused.   
  
"I didn't detect anything coming on the ship," she said.  
  
"Well, it was a man's voice. He said he knew what to do. That's all-" He was cut off by Rommie.  
  
"Incoming transmission," she said quickly.   
  
"Let's hear it, Rommie," Dylan requested.   
  
"Captain Hunt, this is Del Fandan. I was a waiter at the banquet. I know what is wrong with your engineer. I'm requesting permission to come aboard the Andromeda to offer you help in curing him." Rommie raised an eyebrow. "End of transmission, Captain."  
  
"Fandan?" Harper thought for a minute. "He was the waiter that told me the blue stuff was good for me."   
  
Beka walked into the med deck. Her face brightened up when she saw Harper was awake. "Harper, you're awake!" She ran over and hugged him. He looked scared as she wrapped her arms around him and trapped his arms. When she started to squeeze, he stopped her. "Whoa, Beka. Unless you want an unpleasant shower, I'd suggest letting me go now."  
  
Beka's smile disappeared and she let go of him. "Sorry," she said quickly.   
  
"Well," Dylan interrupted, "I suppose we should allow this guy to come aboard, if he knows what's wrong with you." He looked at Harper as if he were asking for his consent. Harper just nodded and coughed.   
  
Beka backed up and pointed at him. "Is he contagious?" she asked Rommie.   
  
"No," Rommie replied with a smile. "Fortunately for the rest of you, he's not contagious, and fortunately for him, I don't have to put him in quarantine." She smiled at him and walked away.   
  
"Rommie?" Dylan stopped her.   
  
"Message sent, Captain."   
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	3. Needles?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Harper sat on the med deck waiting for Fandan to make his appearance. Sherlock was with him, and so was Beka. While Beka read her book, Harper dangled a string in front of Sherlock's face. Sherlock seemed barely interested, but played anyway. Harper swore the cat knew he was sick and needed cheering up. "He wouldn't be doing this if I weren't sick," he insisted. Ever since Felix's death a few months earlier, Sherlock stuck to Harper. The rest of the crew liked the cat, and he liked them too, he just preferred to stay with Harper.   
  
After an hour of waiting and playing with the cat, Harper fell asleep. Beka did too. She had fallen asleep fifteen minutes before him, and he took her example into consideration. He had just drifted off when somebody woke him up. It was Beka. "Fandan's here," she said when he opened his eyes. He looked around and saw nobody. "Lemme sleep," he complained. Then he heard Fandan's voice. He opened his eyes and saw Fandan standing in front of him. He was tall and skinny, and not particularly muscular. His pale white skin was brighter than Harper remembered, and his brooding orange eyes freaked him out a bit. The strange blue hat he wore made Harper smile and laugh inside.   
  
"Mr. Harper," Fandan said, his slight accent standing out, "somebody planted this virus you have. It was intended for Captain Hunt, but somebody didn't have any common sense. Who would put a virus in something that wouldn't appeal to a human?" He chuckled a little bit and stopped when Harper gave him a dirty look.   
  
"Just get on with the info, whitey," Harper sighed. Fandan took off the hat and revealed his bright orange hair. Harper looked like he had a brain fart. "What species are you again?" he asked.   
  
"Majuine," Fandan replied as he brought some needles out of a bag. Harper inspected the needles and shivered.   
  
"And what are those?" he asked, still staring at the needles.   
  
"Needles," Fandan replied vacantly.   
  
Harper gave him a look. "I know that, Captain Obvious," he said with an attitude. "What are they for?"  
  
"This one is a vaccine, it's for the rest of the crew to ensure that they can never get the virus," he pointed to some small needles. "This one is for a blood test, just to make sure I'm right about you," he pointed to a larger needle. "And this one," he pulled an even larger needle out of the bag, "is the first part of the cure."   
  
"The first?" Harper said with a gulp. "How many parts of the cure are there?"  
  
"Five." Fandan replied. "One for every hour."  
  
"You mean you're gonna stick a needle like that in my arm five times?" Harper's eyes widened.   
  
"Precisely."   
  
Harper heard Beka giggling in the background. He turned and gave her a dirty look. Fandan saw this and whispered to Harper. "Don't worry, the vaccine leaves a hell of a bruise and it'll be sore for days." Harper grinned evilly and chuckled to himself. "Brace yourself," Fandan said suddenly. Harper felt a needle stick into his vein and his jaw dropped.   
  
"OOWW!!" he complained. He saw the syringe fill up with blood. "Oh, that's lovely," he said sarcastically. "I hate this part." Fandan pulled the needle out and quickly pressed a cotton swab to Harper's arm. He put the syringe in the case and walked away. Harper looked at him funny and shook his head. This Fandan character was something else. He returned to the real world and remembered that his stomach still hurt like hell. Sherlock jumped back onto the bed and rubbed his face against Harper's arm. His loud purring made Harper happy and he scratched the cat's ears softly. Beka made her way over and scratched the cat's chin.   
  
"How are you doing, Harper?" she asked seriously.  
  
"Not good," Harper said in pain. "This pain isn't going away. When I woke up a couple of hours ago, it was because the pain reminds me of when the Magog started to hatch. I can't stand it any longer, Beka. You gotta get this guy to hurry up and give me the cure before I go insane or die." He started to sway back and forth and Beka balanced him.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"Something's wrong," he replied quietly. His eyes rolled back and he was unconscious again.   
  
"Fandan!" Beka called out. Fandan raced into the room and took one look at Harper.   
  
"We've got to give him the cure, now…" 


	4. Have you Seen My Cat?

Harper walked slowly onto the command deck. Dylan stood at the helm and seemed to stare into empty space. Trance stood still for a moment as if she were thinking. She turned around and smiled. "Hi, Harper," she said cheerfully. Dylan whipped around and tried to maintain a serious composure. He was glad Harper was up and around, but didn't want to show it.   
  
"Feeling any better, Mr. Harper?" he asked seriously.   
  
"Fine hello to you too, Dylan," Harper laughed. "As a matter of fact, yes, I am feeling just a little bit better. This Fandan guy is the real thing. He still refuses to tell me who planted the virus and why."  
  
"The same goes for me. Unfortunately he refuses to say much about anything except your condition." Dylan thought for a moment. "He did say that whoever planted the virus meant for me to catch it and that if he hadn't seen you eat the stuff, you would've been dead within a couple of days. He said you're not quite out of the danger zone yet, but you're on the verge of breaking out of it." Dylan half expected a sarcastic reply to what he had just said from Harper, but it never came. There was an awkward pause, and then Beka cleared her throat.   
  
"Believe it or not, Tyr has actually been worried about you, Harper. He hasn't intentionally shown it, but he's stopped by a couple of times while you're sleeping to interrogate Fandan about what's going on with you." She saw the half smile on Harper's face and laughed to herself.   
  
* * *  
  
Tyr was, of course, in the exercise room lifting weights. Harper slipped quietly into the room and leaned against a wall. The sound of the heart monitor Tyr wore annoyed him. Finally the sound drove him to say something. "Will you shut that stupid thing off?" he said suddenly. "I mean, aren't Nietzscheans supposed to be able to sense their heartbeat or something?"  
  
Tyr nearly dropped the weights when he heard Harper's voice. He set the weights down and stared at Harper with mean eyes. "So you're alive…" he said slowly. "How many times are you going to have near-death experiences?"   
  
"I don't know. I'm kind of getting the feel for heading towards the light," Harper said sarcastically. "Have you seen my cat?"  
  
"You mean the gray ball of pathetic fur that insists on staring at me for hours on end?" Tyr said angrily. Harper nodded. "He's sleeping in the corner." Tyr waved his hand toward the corner on his left. Sherlock was curled up into a ball with his nose tucked neatly under his tail. "I have to admit, that thing can be entertaining at times," Tyr said with a faint smile.  
  
"Sometimes I even feel like he knows what we're saying," Harper said as he picked up the cat. "It's like he's listening to every word and he understands it, he just can't say anything back."  
  
"And I think you're insane," Tyr said blandly.   
  
"Harper, you need to get back to the med deck," Rommie said when she walked in the room. "Fandan said you've been out for too long and you're due for your next shot."  
  
"Great…" Harper said. "My arm is still sore from the last one."  
  
"Yes, and the rest of the crew, myself included are enjoying the afterthought of the vaccination." Tyr showed Harper the slight bruising on his right shoulder. Harper gave a quirky little smile and strolled out of the room. Rommie was right behind him, the same smile on her own face.   
  
"It's nice to see you're feeling better," Rommie said. "You had me worried for a moment."  
  
"Rommie cares about me?" Harper sounded shocked. He never knew Rommie ever got worried about him. Rommie just rolled her eyes and sighed. "Rom Doll, I never knew you had such strong human emotions."  
  
"I never said I was agonizing over you being sick. I said I was worried. After all, if you were to die, who would take care of me when I'm broke?" Rommie smiled and laughed inside.  
  
"Ha, ha," Harper said. "You're funny too, did you know that?" He stopped in the middle of the corridor and leaned against a wall.   
  
"Harper?" Rommie had concern in her voice.  
  
Harper shook his head and started walking again. "Just got a little dizzy, that's all," he explained. "I'm fine." Beka gave him a look and kept walking.   
  
When they reached the med deck, Fandan was sitting on one of the beds reading a flexi. He had a look of concern on his face, but he shook it off and put on a smile for Harper. "Ready for your next shot?" he asked cheerfully.   
  
"Sock it to me, Doc," Harper joked. He rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm for Fandan. Fandan gave him the shot carefully and walked away. "I sure hope this really works," Harper said. "That last shot seems to be wearing off or something, 'cause I'll tell you, I was dizzy on the way here." Fandan turned fast and looked at him.   
  
"You were?" he asked grimly. "How about your symptoms, are they going away at all?"   
  
"They did, but they seem to want to haunt me." Harper was getting worried. He didn't like the tone of voice Fandan was using. "Is there something wrong, Fandan?"  
  
"Yeah, what's going on? Speak," Beka demanded.   
  
"I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe it just takes longer for the cure to work in the human body. Perhaps Harper's weak immune system is causing the cure to work slower." Fandan rambled on in thought to himself. Beka and Harper stood and watched him, but didn't stay long. They decided to return to the command deck.   
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Harper, did you figure out what's wrong with the communication system?" Rommie asked kindly.  
  
Harper came out of the kind of trance he was in and wiped the sweat off his brow. "Yeah, it's all fixed," he replied quickly.  
  
"What was wrong with it?"  
  
"Something was wrong with the wiring that kept you from sending out any signals whatsoever. It didn't take me long to fix it."  
  
"Don't brag, Harper. I get confused when there's something wrong with me," Rommie made an excuse. The truth was that she wanted to give Harper something to do. He seemed bored. None of the rest of the crewmembers would let him do anything on his own. Now his condition seemed to be getting worse again, and she thought about doing the same. "Harper, are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, just feeling a little tired is all." Harper gave a fake yawn and stretched his arms. "Is there anything else that needs to be done?"  
  
"No." Rommie stared at him for a minute. Her sensors told her that his temperature was no longer lowering. "Aren't you due for your next shot yet?"   
  
"Yeah, actually I am." Harper started to walk out of the command deck. He could tell Rommie was monitoring him, and he didn't like it. He heard Rommie's footsteps behind him and looked over his shoulder. "I can get there myself, Rommie. Thanks for the concern, though." Rommie stopped following him when he turned a corner.   
  
"Fandan," she said into her comm. link, "Keep an eye out for Harper. He's acting kind of strange and his fever is coming back."   
  
"Sure thing, Andromeda." His response was made hastily and he sounded frustrated. She dismissed her suspicion and went back to work.   
  
* * * * *  
  
Harper passed Trance on his way to the med deck. He politely smiled and kept walking. He didn't want her to figure out that he was feeling sick again. She stopped when she saw the look in his eyes. "Harper, what's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"What? Nothing's wrong. Why does everybody keep asking me that?" He was getting frustrated and he wanted to get his shot and go to bed.   
  
"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you don't look too good," Trance replied angrily. "Maybe you should show a little gratitude to everybody because we care about you."  
  
"Fine!" Harper shouted. "Thank you very much, Trance. I really appreciate the concern! Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go get my shot and go to bed! Is that okay with you, Trance?" He took a deep breath and held his head in his hands. Trance stood in awe at his anger. She fought back a tear in her eye and walked away from him. She bumped into Tyr, who stared at her strangely as she ran away.  
  
"I heard that whole thing, boy," he said to Harper. "I'm personally on her side."  
  
"Oh, are you going to give me a speech about gratitude now, too?"   
  
Beka turned a corner whistling a tune. "Hi, Harper. Hi, Tyr," she said cheerfully. Then she noticed the look on Harper's face. "What's wrong with you, Harper?" At that, Harper fell unconscious to the floor.   
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	5. Live Long and Prosper

Harper found himself waking up on the med deck once again. The memory of how he had gotten there had completely evaded his mind. He looked around and saw Trance and Fandan talking quietly with their backs to him. He didn't bother saying anything; he knew they would only tell him that nothing was wrong. Harper quietly stood up, caught his balance, and walked out of the med deck. Once he was out, he headed for the machine shop.   
  
Trance and Fandan never heard them. They continued to converse.  
  
"I want you to tell me what is wrong right now," Trance demanded. "He is my friend, and if he dies, I will personally harm you."  
  
"Relax, miss Gemini, I think I've figured out what's wrong." There was a long pause.  
  
"Well?" Trance said impatiently.   
  
"His immune system isn't functioning at all right now, so the treatment itself is not enough. What he needs is a higher dose of the cure."  
  
"Okay, so why don't you give him a higher dose?"   
  
"I don't have a higher dose."  
  
"You what? You mean to tell me that you came on this ship knowing full well that we had a very sick person on board, and you didn't bring extra?" Trance looked as if she were ready to rip his head off at any minute. Instead she turned around and saw that Harper was gone. "Harper," she said through her comm. link, "get back to the med deck."  
  
"Sorry, Trance," Harper replied. "I've seen enough of that place. I'll be in the machine shop if you need me."  
  
She stormed out of the room and headed toward the machine shop. The whole way there, she cursed the day Harper was born and hit a few walls. Rommie approached her and started following her. "Trance, I know you're angry, but you really don't have to take it out on me," she said. Trance ignored her and kept walking and hitting walls. She became so wrapped up in her anger that she took a wrong turn somewhere and didn't realize it until she was halfway down the corridor. She turned around and started walking back, this time giving heed to Rommie's requests. No more walls were hit, but Trance continued to curse in a manner that didn't seem of her nature. When she finally came to the machine shop, she stormed in and searched for Harper.  
  
"Harper!" she shouted. "Get out here and get back to the med deck, now."   
  
Harper appeared from under his long-term project and smiled. "Trance. Hi. Uh… I was uh… I'm feeling better so I uh…" He thought for a minute, then gave up. "Please don't hurt me."   
  
"Harper, we have a problem." Trance sat down on the floor next to him. "Fandan says you need more of the cure to live, but he doesn't have it."   
  
Harper sat for a moment, staring blankly at Trance's face. Finally he spoke up. "That… uh… that's- not good news… What are we going to do now?" A small tear peaked in the corner of his eye, but he fought it back.   
  
"We're both going to go to the command deck, we're going to tell Dylan what's going on, and he's going to send somebody back to the planet with Fandan. Fandan is going to get more of the cure and bring it back. Then you'll be okay." Trance fought back tears of her own. "Sound like a plan?"   
  
"Good enough for me, anyways," Harper laughed.   
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Upon arrival on the command deck, Trance shouted, "Dylan!" Dylan turned from his spot at the helm and looked at Trance with questioning eyes. He didn't notice that Harper was with her at first. "Dylan, I'd like to request that you send either Beka or myself back to the planet with Fandan as soon as possible."  
  
"Slow down, Trance. Why?"  
  
"Because Fandan didn't bring enough of the cure for Harper." She put a hand on Harper's shoulder and stepped closer to Dylan.   
  
"What she means to say, Dylan, is that Fandan says I need more of the cure than he thought, and he doesn't have it with him," Harper finished explaining.   
  
"I don't have it at all," Fandan said as he rushed onto command.   
  
"What?!" Trance, Harper and Dylan all said together.   
  
Fandan shielded himself for an expected attack. "I mean this is all I have, and it is very expensive stuff!"   
  
Trance thought for a minute. "Well… Can't Rommie duplicate it or something?"  
  
Rommie's hologram appeared. "I can, but it won't be nearly as effective as the real thing."   
  
"So make lots of it, Rommie," Harper pleaded. "I mean, it's wroth trying, isn't it? I'd like to stay alive for a little bit longer. I've gotten used to almost getting killed by anyone who opposes Dylan, and I'd like to die defending the new Commonwealth. It's kind of all I have left."   
  
Harper's words dug themselves deep into Dylan's mind. He had no idea Harper felt this way about what they did. Trance fought back more tears and Rommie's hologram stared, as if pondering. "Rommie," Dylan broke the silence, "make as much of the cure as possible. Harper, knowing you, you'll live longer than any of us."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   
  
After receiving the last of the synthetic cure Rommie had made, Harper jumped down off of the table in the med deck. Trance stood by, and he could sense a bear hug boiling up inside of her. He sighed and held out his arms. Trance smiled wildly and embraced him.  
  
"I'm soooo glad you're okay," she said.   
  
"Yeah, me too," Harper joked. He turned towards Fandan, who stood in the door with his little black suitcase in hand, his funny hat perched atop his head. "Thanks for everything Fandan. I don't think Id be here to say that if you hadn't been so kind."  
  
"All in a days work, Mr. Harper. I couldn't stand by and watch a human die. After all, it was a human man who saved me from death when I was a little boy," Fandan said with a sigh. He looked at Trance and Harper and smiled. "Would you two be so kind as to escort me to my ship? I'm afraid this ship is awfully big and I only spent all my time in this medical deck."  
  
Trance and Harper laughed and led Fandan to his ship in the docking bay. The whole way there, Fandan explained to them what had happened to him as a child that made him so fond of humans. Along the way, Sherlock followed the three, purring loudly and craving for attention. Fandan finally picked him up and carried him in his one free hand the rest of the way to the docking bay. "The domesticated feline: another fascinating species," he said at one point. Once they reached the docking bay, Fandan handed the cat over to Harper and took his hat off again.   
  
"It has been a very interesting couple of days, I must say that. This has been nothing short of a learning experience." Fandan played with the brim of his hat while he spoke. "I would like to thank the both of you for everything."  
  
"What are you thanking us for? We should be the ones to thank you," Harper laughed. "I mean, Fandan, you saved my life. I will never find a way to pay you back. I'll tell you what, whenever you're in trouble or any kind of life-threatening situation, call me up and I'll send Tyr." The three of them laughed. "I don't know how else to thank you than to say it. Thank you."   
  
"Yes, thank you Fandan. I don't know what we'd do without Harper." Trance paused for a moment. "On second thought, I do… We'd all have more peace and quiet around here!"   
  
Fandan gave a hearty laugh and sighed. "Well, I suppose I'd better be going. I have work to do on my home planet. Remember always, Seamus Harper, that Del Fandan is always ill prepared… And so good-bye. Live well, and for the Divine's sake, stay healthy." Fandan turned and started walking toward his ship.   
  
"Live long and prosper," Harper said as he held up the ancient Vulcan sign of peace. Fandan just stared at his hand with a funny expression and climbed aboard his ship. The docking bay doors closed and he took off. Harper and Trance walked slowly to command, talking about the "adventure" and how they felt now that everything was going to be okay.   
  
Harper set Sherlock on the floor just before they entered the command deck. Sherlock scurried along his way to Harper's quarters. As he reached the door to the quarters, he heard a faint scratching sound coming from around the corner. Like all curious cats, he decided to see what it was. He slowly turned the corner and saw a little gray and black-striped kitten sitting against a wall playing with what looked like a dust ball. Sherlock stared at the kitten in wonder, with the question of "Where did this kitten come from?" probably racing through his cat brain.   
  
The End 


End file.
